Willard Bidding Jr. is shown June 16 after a Luzerne County jury found him guilty of intentionally striking a man with his vehicle in Plymouth.
                                 Times Leader file photo

Willard Bidding Jr. is shown June 16 after a Luzerne County jury found him guilty of intentionally striking a man with his vehicle in Plymouth.

Times Leader file photo

Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

WILKES-BARRE — An attorney for Willard Bidding Jr., convicted by a Luzerne County jury of intentionally striking a man with his vehicle, asked for a sentence of house arrest.

President Judge Michael T. Vough instead imposed a state prison sentence.

Bidding, 54, of Pringle, was sent to state prison for two years, four months to four years, eight months on charges of aggravated assault, terroristic threats, simple assault and resisting arrest.

A jury convicted Bidding following a trial in June.

Bidding was charged by Plymouth police with striking Mackenzie Wydawski with a Toyota Scion in the driveway of a home on Nottingham Street on June 9, 2021. Wydawski, a contractor, was working on an adjacent house when he was struck.

Assistant district attorneys Kim Moraski and Julian Truskowski during the trial said Bidding, after he was handcuffed, injured himself by banging his head against a police cruiser and spat blood that struck the face of Officer Nicholas Riebel.

Bidding claimed the officer smashed his head against the cruiser, calling it a “blood bath” during the trial.

Moraski and Truskowski said Bidding “weaponized his blood” describing his actions as a “tornado with violent threatening behavior” toward Riebel.

During the sentencing hearing, Moraski repeated her argument describing Bidding as a “violent” man who has had multiple arrests and was given opportunities to correct his behavior.

“I think it’s time to punish him,” Moraski said.

Bidding’s attorney, Enid Harris, asked for a probation sentence with house arrest or at the least serve any confinement at the county correctional facility.

Vough then sentenced Bidding to state prison reminding him that he intentionally struck a man with a vehicle and did not show any remorse.

Bidding was acquitted by the jury on charges of reckless endangerment and institutional vandalism.